


I'm home about eight, Just me and my radio.

by Metas



Series: T'aint nobody's business if I do [6]
Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Cooking, Cooking Lessons, Gen, M/M, Musical References, One Shot, slight Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel)/Alastor (Hazbin Hotel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-08 00:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21467302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metas/pseuds/Metas
Summary: “It’s not that simple Mol’s”“Ain’t it tho’?”
Relationships: Alastor (Hazbin Hotel) & Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel) & Molly (Hazbin Hotel)
Series: T'aint nobody's business if I do [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1542289
Comments: 9
Kudos: 157





	I'm home about eight, Just me and my radio.

When Angel’d first thought up the idea, it was innocent enough; do something to show his appreciation to the girls without bein’ too sappy. But when he thought of things he could give back he, unsurprisingly, came up short. Alot of his time in hell was wrought with so much sex, drugs and violence just, as it had been in life, that he easily acknowledged that he didn’t have a lot to offer the proprietress of their little Happy Hotel. Outside of Cherri Bomb and his Sister, Charlie Magne was one of the few people in hell he’d genuinely began to grow affection for. Her honest, open smiles and complete belief in his ability to be a better person prodded a feeling in his heart he hadn’t felt, if he was being honest, ever. Ain’t anybody believed him able to be a better him in a long damn time; Sure, some people liked him as he was, but the longer he stayed in the hotel and with the company therein the appeal of purely physical pleasures and a temporary high with a hard crash began to lose their allure.

Which led him to do some soul searching on the matter of exactly what he could offer the blonde. Of course the first person he’d asked was his Sister; Because as much as he loves Cherri, the woman knows how to show gentle affection as well he does.

Molly laid on her stomach, head propped up by both of her hands while her legs alternate kicking out behind her. The white spider’s eyes track watched her twin pace the floor of her bedroom, lower arms crossed while one of his upper arms was propped on his hip the other cupped his chin in contemplation.

“I don’t see why you gotta agonize over it Angie, just get the girl some flowers or somethin’ I bet she’d love a gift card for a spa.”

The older, by only a few seconds, spider looked down to his sister who dramatically flips on to her back, hand reaching out into the air while the other head splays, open palm up, over her forehead; The girls face takes on a mock forlorn look.

“I wish my girls would give me a spa day”

Angel rolled his eyes at his sister affectionately before shaking his head, arms slumping in defeat.

“It’s not that simple Mol’s”

“Ain’t it tho’?”

Molly’s hands were still where they were, lower arms crossed over her stomach, but now she’d shot him an inquisitive look. He’d have to elaborate and that meant address his feelings on the matter; he was never comfortable doing that, it made him feel embarrassed in a way screwing around with nameless johns never did.

“I owe it to her, I can’t just show up at her door with some posies going ‘Hey, How ya doin, Here’s some flower’s for turning my life around, thanks bye’”

Angel sat on the bed next to his sister, hunching forward with his elbows on his knees, hands cradling his head. Molly’s giving him a look of sympathy from her position. She’s never seen him this worried about a simple gift ever; It really goes to show how much it meant to the other spider what the girl did for him.

“’Sides, I cant give her anything she don’t already got. She’s the daughter of the head honcho himself.”

When Molly had heard the news about the hotel, she hadn't thought of it as anything more than the wild fantasy of another big shot in power; When she’d heard about her brother being apart of the project however she immediately called him to ask what part of his already screwed up brain led him to volunteer for such a thing. At first she was told it was just a place to stay til he could find a more permanent residence but as the days turned to weeks, turned to months, Molly saw a change for the better in her brother she’d never thought she would ever see. Since then she hasn’t said a word to him about it, not willing to have him change his mind about the whole thing.

She hadn’t had her twin her with her for a long time; Not since they stopped being kids playing make believe, stopped sharing secrets, stopped talking about which boys were the prettiest. When she found him, pale and cold, overdosed on the namesake he took for himself in his death she thought should would never get him back. When she looks at Angel now she feels maybe she owes the princess of hell something as well now. Unintentionally as it was the girl had given her a gift she would never be able to repay in full.

“There’s some things you can’t buy, Angie”

Angel Dust gives her a side eye, waiting for her to elaborate her point with a glum look. The younger reaches up to emphasize her point, placing it on her ample chest.

“Like a gift from the heart.”

The spider makes a face at her words, he can already feel the unpleasant bloom of embarrassment crawling up his neck. Molly hits his arm at the look, giving him a flat stare.

“I’m bein’ serious here Angel, you could just get her somethin’ you know she likes or I dunno, make somethin’.”

A thought comes to her suddenly and she breaks out into a smile.

“Didn’t you cook way back when?”

Angel once more makes a face but this time for a different reason. He knows what she’s talking about but he really doesn’t like to think about those days before he woke up in hell. He wasn’t about to pretend and say he was surprised he got the whole eternal damnation shtick, he definitely deserved it, but what did surprise him was that living down here in hell was better than when he was living under his father’s roof. Sure, he had to do some odd jobs as well as _do some odd jobs_, but shit he could be himself more than he could have ever been when he was alive.

“Sorry to say Sis, but it’s been a long time sit I set foot in a kitchen. A real one anyways. I ain’t got that magic touch anymore.”

“That don’t mean nothin’! It’s the thought that counts and if it’s so hard for you to say a simple ‘Thank You’ then you may as well put some effort in to make up for it!”

Angel flops backwards onto Molly’s bed with a groan, closing his eyes. Thinking the whole thing over, the idea has some merit to it but he’s more afraid of giving the girl food poisoning from his current lack of skill and THAT would be more embarrassing than outright saying just a measly “Thanks”. Charlie deserved more then just the crappy slop he could toss together but it wasn’t like he’d become an A1 chef overnight by himself. His mind pauses when it comes to a particular thought, eyes opening with an idea.

“Oh”

SLAM!

“What the fuck!?”

The spider jumps about a foot into the air in fright, landing on one foot hands raised in a defensive stance while his companion doesn’t make a sound, staring him right in the eye face unchanging making it hard to read whats going through their mind. The move was like a practiced and perfected joke, luring the viewer into a false sense of security, leaving them completely unsuspecting, before they got the shock of their lives. Angel’s nerves are still on edge when the laugh track starts up in the small hotel kitchen.

“Ah, that never gets old”

Angel gives the smiling demon a glare. When he’d approached Alastor that morning and awkwardly requested the demon to teach him to cook something without an explanation as to why, he’d expected the Radio Demon to laugh at him and walk away with a gibe. So it came as a surprise that, while he did still laugh at him, the red head was open to the idea. It occurs to the spider, now, why he was open to the idea and that this wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought it would be when the other said he would assist.

“That wasn’t funny, ya red freak!”

“On the contrary, I found it to be hilarious! Ha Ha Ha!”

The meat cleaver the Radio Demon slammed down on the cutting board lifts up to reveal the splattered remains of a clove of garlic that he simply wipes off with a finger to the cutting board, moving it to the side as another garlic glove is placed there. Holding the cleaver out to him, handle first, Alastor motions for him to approach with a smile.

“Now it’s your turn, and remember ‘gently’” 

Alastor had decided that the best way to get him back into the kitchen was cooking a full course meal of a cuisine he’d only had in passing whenever Alastor himself cooked on a whim. It turned out to have a very lengthy learning process. The spider felt tense at being pulled completely out of his comfort zone, only ever having dealt in Italian dishes that had a strict guideline to follow most of his early life he didn’t know how anything he was about make was supposed to end up. However when he expressed his concern, the Radio demon simply laughed at him again telling him not to worry as they immediately jumped into the beginnings of a gumbo.

He’d never learned how to make a roux before, hell he didn't even know how to spell the damn word let alone what it was before then, but in the short time after he’d discovered its existence he’d managed to burn it about 5 times before the Radio Demon finally took the blackened spoon from his hand with an off hand joke and a promise they could work on it later. Alastor however, despite his appearance, was a thorough and patient teacher. Pretty anal about specifics or lack thereof, if Angel were being honest, but still patient enough to put up with when Angel burned or overcooked an ingredient to the point they’d have to start from scratch. 

“Al, can I stop now?”

“No dear boy, keep going, you’re almost there!”

Angel kept turning the knob on the pepper grinder, he‘d been grinding the pepper for 20 seconds now, this had to be enough! But Alastor kept a watchful gaze of his student, urging him to continue despite the screaming pain in the spider’s arm. Finally when it was too much to bear, Angel’s arm gave out and he dropped it it out of it’s bent pose. He’s ready to complain when the Radio demon shouts elatedly.

“Perfect!”

Angel looks at the other in disbelief before a laugh tumbles out of his throat, starting small first but growing until it’s a full belly laugh. He can’t put his finger on when exactly, but somewhere along the way his nervousness about messing up had bled away, allowing a warmth to bloom in his chest as the exotic smells of southern spices fill the kitchen air. A spoon is shoved into his mouth and Alastor watches with arms crossed as Angel almost chokes at the sudden intrusion of flavor.

“Well my good fellow? What do you think!?”

Angel squints at the demon and his unfaltering smile, both at his antics and the question. He’s unsure why the other is asking him; He’s not the professional here. The flavor is savory, spicy and fatty but it lacks something, He’s not so sure what but it’s not just yet right. Walking over to the pot he tastes it again, trying to figure out whats missing.

“Is this what it’s supposed to taste like?”

“I wouldn’t know, I haven’t tried it.”

Angel turns to him questioningly, while the other strolls over to the stove top, picking up the wooden spoon and stirring the brown mixture bubbling away in the pot. Instead of answering his unasked question Alastor gives him a side look.

“Is it missing something?”

The spider must be missing something because even in the silence that follows the other watches him expectantly rather than offering his opinion or even trying whats in the pot.

“I don’t get it, you said you were gonna teach me, but you don’t even wanna try it to see if it tastes right?”

This time Alastor does turn to him, his smile conspiratorial.

“Southern cooking isn’t done by the book, my boy! You’ll never find two gumbo’s that are exactly alike, No sir! Why, it’s just like my mother used to say ‘The best dish served is the one you’ve made for yourself!’”

Angel is quiet at that, rolling the words around in his head while he looks at the Radio Demon stirring the pot, contemplatively. The apprehension is setting back in and he’s worried about giving the wrong answer because surely it can’t be that simple.

“Taste’s like it could use some salt”

With a practiced flourish Alastor adds the aforementioned ingredient, stirring it in quickly with a hum. He motions for Angel to try the concoction once more and this time it’s perfect, hitting all the right needs of his palette. Angel says as much and Alastor gives the gumbo a try for himself, nodding in approval with a large grin.

“Stupendous! This brings me right back home! Yes indeed-y! Why I believe you’re a natural!”

Angel feels that warmth in his chest again but this time it’s not from the joys of cooking. Alastor busies himself with setting up preparation for the next dish they’ll make together while Angel stands by, getting ingredients for a sweet dessert ready when asked. A pretty tune of slow piano trickles through the air and Angel looks over at the focused man who doesn’t seem to notice he’s even started, or maybe he does.

Angel sways his hips to the music, enjoying the roll of the piano while he slices peaches down for a peach cobbler while Alastor behind him is kneading the dough. Eyes half lidded he can see why the other man does this now, it’s easy to lose yourself to this, just existing like this.

_“No one to talk with, all by myself_  
_No one to walk with but I'm happy on the shelf_  
_Ain't misbehavin'_  
_Savin' my love for you, for you, for you, for you”_

Turning his head, Angel eyes Alastor from the corner of his periphery while the red clad demon taps his foot to the music, body swaying as well, head bobbing left to right. 

_“I know for certain, The one I love  
I'm through with flirtin', It's you that I'm thinkin' of”_

Angel averts his eyes back to his own prep, body tense again. Because seriously, Al couldn’t be doin that on purpose right?

_“Ain't misbehavin'  
Savin' my love for you“_

**Author's Note:**

> Song: Ain't Misbehavin  
Singer: Fats Waller
> 
> Shout out to that lad, Issac Toups, That joke never stops being funny.


End file.
